Good Food Guide crowns new No.1 for the first time in 5 years

17/08/2017 - 07:00

The 2018 Good Food Guide (GFG) has now been published by supermarket chain Waitrose, revealing its top places to dine in the UK and editor’s award winners.

Taking home the top prize of ‘Number One Restaurant’ in the UK is Cornwall-based seafood restaurant, Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, having achieved a 10/10 score for the second year running. This is the first time in five years that the guide has announced a new ‘number one’, which Outlaw took from four-year reigning champion Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cumbria.

Outlaw said: “We’ve always been proud to have a place in the listings, but to hear that Restaurant Nathan Outlaw has made it to number one is phenomenal. I’d say the award has come due to the hard work and dedication of our team who have now been working together for a decade. It just goes to show that if you stay true to yourself, get your head down, look after your customers and use the very best ingredients available to you, you’ll make it to the top.”

Waitrose Good Food Guide editor, Elizabeth Carter added: “Nathan Outlaw’s food is characterised by the absolute freshness of ingredients and a clear sense of purpose. He has done an enormous amount to educate and encourage the public appetite for fish, driven by his supply of impeccably fine ingredients, and a special talent for creating unique and thrilling fish dishes.

“Moreover, nobody seems to leave Nathan Outlaw’s staff – they just go and work in another one of his restaurants. They obviously think he’s a pretty good boss as well as a fine chef.”

Despite being knocked from the top, L’Enclume still retains a score of 10 and was also commended for its “fiercely seasonal ingredients” and “knockout dishes.”

Other awards, which “recognise restaurants and chefs for their talent and commitment to excellence,” went to:

Chef of the Year - Peter Sanchez-Iglesias from Casamia in Bristol.

Chef to Watch - Ben Crittenden, from Stark, located in Broadstairs, Kent.

Restaurant of the Year - The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Best New Restaurant Entry - crowd-funded Salt, in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Best Front-of-House, celebrating the best customer service in the UK - Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottinghamshire.

Best Pub Restaurant - The Crown, in Burchett’s Green, Berkshire.

As well as celebrating fine dining establishment, the GFG also champions more “unusual eateries” that it claims “may not be found in more traditional restaurant guides.” Compiled from anonymous inspections and extensive feedback received from readers, Waitrose prides the Guide on “uncovering new foodie finds every year.”

This year’s examples include four new entries housed under railway arches: Umezushi in Manchester, Hart’s Bakery in Bristol, and Bala Baya and El Pastor in London, as well as Leeds-based restaurant, Vice and Virtue, which is located in a former strip club and Devonshire holiday park restaurant, Ode & Co.